LBSU ROUNDUP: Long Beach State reaches sand volleyball semis

Caitlin Ledoux and Tara Roenicke came through for the 49ers in a tough match in the top flight against Florida State, winning 19-21, 27-25, 17-15 to win the third match help Long Beach State advance to the national semifinals in a 3-2 win in Gulf Shores, Ala.

Ledoux and Roenicke had dropped the first set to Jace Pardon and Sarah Wickstrom 19-21, but rallied in a thrilling second set to win 27-25 and then from an 11-11 tie, won the third set 17-15 to seal the win in the final match for the 49ers.

Lauren Minkel and Jocelyn Neely were the first of the courts, defeating Mallory Kiley and Fatma Yildirim 21-14, 21-12 behind 22 kills by Jocelyn Neely. Tyler Jackson and Janisa Johnson also stayed unbeaten in 2013, winning a tight match at No. 5 by defeating the Pelliterri sisters 21-16, 15-21, 18-16.

The 49ers will play the winner of a late match between No. 4 USC and Louisiana-Monroe today starting at 10 a.m. The national championship match is schedule for 1:30 p.m. PDT.

Track and field

A trio of 49ers are among the top five after the first day of the decathlon and heptathlon at the Big West Track & Field Championships in Northridge.

Senior Garrett Demirjian is third in the decathlon (3,689) and is just 67 points behind current leader Derek Masterson of UC Santa Barbara. After four events of the heptathlon, junior Taylor Jackson is third with 3,003 points, while senior Wendy Izquierdo is fifth at 2,906.

Baseball

Colton Vaughn scored both of Long Beach State's runs and was a homer short of the cycle, but the second baseman's effort wasn't enough as the Dirtbags fell 3-2 in the series opener with No. 4 Cal State Fullerton.